Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Cultural Heritage: Conservation

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Historic England registerHeritage at Risk, published on 9 November, what steps they are takingto support, repair and maintain new entries on that register.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Once a new entry is added to the Heritage at Risk Register, Historic England offers public funding for the repair and conservation of the asset at risk. It focuses its grants on those sites which are most in need of repair and which, without additional investment, would be at risk of deterioration. The National Lottery Heritage Fund will also factor the Heritage at Risk Register into its assessments of applications for its National Lottery Grants for Heritage. The work supported by such funding results in assets at risk being taken off the register – including, this year, ecclesiastical heritage sites such as Sheerness Dockyard Church, Sheffield General Cemetery, and St. John The Evangelist, Rutland.Historic England offers grants to enable churches to employ support officers, who work locally to help those responsible for places of worship which are at risk to plan repairs, manage projects, and fundraise. Since 2008, more than 40 posts have been funded through this programme.Historic England also works with other bodies which award grants to help avert harm to our heritage, advising them on where to focus their resources so that they have the greatest impact for historic places and the people that benefit from them. Partnerships with owners, organisations, local authorities, and community groups are vital in making these projects successful.

Ministry of Justice

Storms: Channel Islands

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government what supportthey have offered to (1) Jersey, and (2) Guernsey, following the impact of Storm Ciarán.

Lord Bellamy: The Crown Dependencies are responsible for their own contingency planning and emergency response but the UK stands ready to assist them in responding to emergencies where they request additional support. UK officials were in contact with emergency planners in the Channel Islands during Storm Ciarán but none of the Islands requested any support from the UK.

Parole

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Victims and Prisoners Bill impact assessment which states the that the average annual cost of implementing the proposed reforms will be £32 million, and the total annual budget for the Parole Board being £23 million, whether this additional expense will (1) be met by new funding or (2) have to be found from existing budgets, and if so from where they plan to reallocate this money.

Lord Bellamy: The published impact assessment outlines the cost and impact on prison places of these reforms. The £32 million refers to the average annual cost of the reforms over the next 10 years (excluding transition costs). The bulk of this cost (£28.7 million) is attributed to the additional prison places required – the actual increase in costs to the Parole Board is expected to average £0.7 million over the next 10 years. However, it is important to note that these figures are averages and will not be this high immediately as the number of additional prison places required will increase gradually until the reforms reach ‘’steady state’’, which is expected to be more than 10 years away. No further funding has been allocated in this spending review period; any further funding expenditure will be determined at future spending reviews.The impact assessment can be accessed here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0286/VictimsandPrisonersBillParoleImpact_Assessment_March23.pdf.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Carbon Emissions

Lord Lucas: To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in formulating rules for the natural capital markets, farmers and landowners will be permitted to ‘stack’ trades, that is to sell credits in different markets from the same operation; if so, whether carbon credits will be included in the stacking system; and, if not, what effect they expectthat to have on the viability of new broad-leaved woodland as compared with coniferous plantations.

Lord Benyon: The Government is committed to supporting farmers and other land managers to access revenue streams for ecosystem services, including carbon, from their land. As set out in the Nature Markets Framework, published in March this year, it is currently possible to ‘stack’ credits for different ecosystem services from the same land, in limited circumstances. Defra is funding research to enable consideration of whether a broader range of opportunities for stacking could be permitted in future without risking the environmental integrity of credits.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Freehold: Service Charges

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce new legislation to grant homeowners greater controls over the fees they pay to estate management companies.

Baroness Penn: As set out in the King’s Speech on 7 November, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will grant freehold homeowners on private and mixed tenure estates the same rights of redress as leaseholders – by extending equivalent rights to transparency over their estate charges, access to support via redress schemes, and to challenge the charges they pay by taking a case to a Tribunal, just like existing leaseholders. We will introduce the Bill as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Housing Occupancy

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to incentivise people to downsize to smaller homes so that under-occupied family homes can be released into the housing market.

Baroness Penn: The Government has announced £10 billion investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament, with housing supply interventions due ultimately to unlock over 1 million new homes over the Spending Review 2021 period and beyond.At the same time, the Government recognises that a better choice of accommodation to suit changing needs can help older people remain living independently for longer and feel more connected to their communities.The Government has established an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce to look at how a greater choice of housing might be provided for older people, including for those who wish to move from their home, releasing family homes into the market.The year-long Taskforce launched in May 2023 and the Government is looking forward to receiving its final recommendations in 2024.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Fuels: Prices

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to implement legislation on the statutory fuel price transparency scheme.

Lord Callanan: The Government has committed to consult on the design of the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices this autumn. Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill will extend the government’s ability to establish and mandate participation in smart data schemes via regulations.The King’s Speech on 7 November confirmed that the Bill will carryover and resume passage this Parliamentary session. Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Bill, the government will lay regulations using the smart data powers to set up the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices.

Department of Health and Social Care

HIV Infection: Women

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to address factors contributing to higher HIV transmission rates among marginalised women, such as sex workers, transgender women, and immigrants.

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that womenhave control over their sexual and reproductive health decisions through empowering them to (1) negotiate condom use, (2) access pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and (3) make informed choices to prevent HIV transmission.

Lord Markham: The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all underserved populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including marginalised women. This includes scaling up HIV testing in targeted, high-risk populations and increasing equitable access to and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).Initial analysis recently published by the UK Health Security Agency show that HIV opt-out testing in emergency departments in local authority areas with extremely high HIV prevalence has been particularly successful at reaching women with HIV testing. The HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group is developing a roadmap to help guide our efforts to improve equitable access, uptake and use of PrEP to meet the needs of key populations at significant risk of HIV, including heterosexual and transgender women, which is expected to be made available by the end of the year.HIV Prevention England delivers a nationally co-ordinated programme of HIV prevention work designed to complement locally commissioned HIV prevention in areas with high HIV prevalence and for communities at risk of HIV transmission, with a particular focus on women, and includes the promotion of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions such as condom use.

Cancer: Radiotherapy

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to reduce waiting times for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer and are waiting for radiotherapy treatment.

Lord Markham: Since 2016, there has been significant investment in radiotherapy equipment so that every radiotherapy provider had access to modern, cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment, enabling the rollout of new techniques like stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. The total central investment made between 2016 and 2021 was £162 million and enabled the replacement or upgrade of approximately 100 radiotherapy treatment machines, equal to around a third of all radiotherapy treatment machines. This is investment on top of that committed by National Health Service trusts, either from their own capital budgets or via donations.Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS from 2022 to 2025.The Government worked with NHS England to publish the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care in February 2022, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer treatments like radiotherapy. This will further be supported by the additional £3.3 billion of funding in each of the next two years announced at the Autumn Statement to support the NHS.

HIV Infection: Health Education

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to implement comprehensive public education campaigns to raise awareness about HIV transmission and treatment advancements, and to tackle stigma; and, if so, what are their plans.

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to collaborate with media organisations, social media influencers, and public figures including celebrities, to portray accurate and empathetic representations of people living with HIV in order to counteract harmful stereotypes; and, if so, what are their plans.

Lord Markham: HIV Prevention England (HPE) is the national HIV prevention programme for England and is funded at £3.5 million by the Department. The programme aims to support communities who are disproportionately affected by HIV, including gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men and Black African heterosexual men and women. The Department has appointed Terrence Higgins Trust, a national charity who provide services related to sexual heath and HIV, to deliver the programme from 2021 to 2024. HPE delivers a nationally co-ordinated programme of HIV prevention work, including public campaigns such as National HIV Testing Week, that is designed to complement locally commissioned prevention activities in areas of high HIV prevalence. HPE also aims to improve knowledge and understating of HIV transmission and reducing stigma within affected communities.HPE works with a wide range of models and their network of influencers and develops its strategies based on comprehensive data, audience insight and knowledge from local partners within England which ensure a wide range of patient’s voices and experiences are represented.

NHS: Drugs

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to resolvethe shortages of more than 100 medicines, as reported by the British Generic Manufacturers Association.

Lord Markham: Medicine supply problems can occur for several reasons. For example, they can be due to manufacturing difficulties, regulatory problems, problems with the supply of raw materials, sudden demand spikes or from issues which are related to the distribution of the product. The production of medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. Occasionally, the National Health Service experiences temporary shortages of specific medicines. We know how frustrating and distressing the possibility of shortages can be and we acknowledge that there have been challenges recently with access to a limited number of medicines. We want to assure patients that the Department has well-established processes to prevent, manage and mitigate medicine shortages and works with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need. The Department routinely shares information about medicine supply issues directly with the NHS so they can put management plans in place to mitigate the risk of the shortage impacting patients and inform their patients about what it might mean for them. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their pharmacist or general practitioner.

Mental Health

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government, given that the Independent Reviewof the Mental Health Act was published five years ago and that the most recent Conservative manifesto included a promise to legislate in this Parliament, why a bill on Mental Health Act reform was not mentioned in the King's Speech.

Lord Markham: We recognise that the absence of a Mental Health Bill in the King’s Speech is disappointing to many people. It remains our intention to bring forward a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows.We continue to take forward non-legislative commitments to improve the care and treatment of people detained under the Act, including continuing to pilot models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy, which will provide tailored support to hundreds of people from ethnic minorities to better understand their rights when they are detained under the Mental Health Act. NHS England has launched the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework for all mental health trusts in the National Health Service to embed across England. We are also investing over £400 million of funding between 2020/21 and 2023/24 to eradicate dormitories and give patients the privacy of their own ensuite bedroom.NHS England is taking forward a new Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme to support cultural change and a new bold, reimagined model of care for the future across all NHS-funded mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient settings. This programme will complement and further support our existing commitments to improve the quality of community care and reduce the need for inpatient care.

Babylon Health

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions took place with NHS bodies with a view to any encouragement for them to contract with Babylon Health.

Lord Markham: Contracting decisions are made by commissioners, who must have the flexibility to commission partnerships, individuals, and private and third sector organisations to deliver general practitioner services within the National Health Service to meet the specific needs of their populations.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey haveto utilise the expertise of trained counsellors and psychotherapists in the 10 newly announced mental health support hubs for children and young people.

Lord Markham: We are investing at least £2.3 billion extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This funding will help hubs to hire counsellors, youth workers and other local experts.The drop-in centres offer mental health support and advice to local young people who will not need a referral by a doctor or school. Services provided include group work, counselling, psychological therapies, specialist advice and signposting to information and other services.

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans theyhave to increase the supply of qualified and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists to meet the severity and range of mental health problems experienced by people across the country.

Lord Markham: The NHS England Workforce, Training and Education directorate has developed a pilot programme to train graduates to become fully accredited psychotherapeutic counsellors who are qualified to work in NHS Talking Therapies services, providing therapies for depression recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This is a fully funded education pathway where trainees are salaried and their full tuition fees funded by the National Health Service. Counsellors and psychotherapists are also contributing to other pathways across the range of severity and types of mental health problems, where they have the required qualifications to deliver the relevant NICE recommended treatments.

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toimprove the integrationof accredited counsellors and psychotherapists into the existing mental health workforce to bolster recruitment and retention.

Lord Markham: Accredited counsellors and psychotherapists constitute a significant proportion of the NHS Talking Therapies workforce. A collaborative campaign to encourage accredited counsellors and psychotherapists to apply to work in NHS Talking Therapies services has been developed by NHS England with several of the counselling and psychotherapy professional bodies. These professionals are a vital part of our mental health workforce and are fully integrated within it, delivering psychological therapies for depression recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Brain: Tumours

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours Inquiry Report Pathway to A Cure, published in February 2023, what stepstheDepartment for Health and Social Care is taking to support early-stage researchers to develop their skills in the field of brain tumour research.

Lord Markham: The Department is working closely with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) in hosting customised workshops for researchers, and training for clinicians. These actions will grow capacity for brain cancer research, attracting new researchers, developing the community, and supporting researchers to submit high-quality research funding proposals.The TJBCM recently announced two appointments to the inaugural Tessa Jowell Fellowship programme. These 12-month fellowships will support high quality training in neuro-oncology clinical practice and research, to ensure clinicians are equipped with the relevant research skills needed to lead neuro-oncology trials that change practice.Additionally, the TJBCM have designated 28 adult Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence within the National Health Service, which has created a world-class network of brain tumour treatment and research centres to provide the best care and share best practice.

Pharmacy: Finance

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government, in each year since 2014, how much funding they provided to community pharmacies in retained margin in real terms as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework; and what was the cost of medicines bought by community pharmacies.

Lord Markham: The retained medicine margin as allowed under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework funding for years 2014/15 to 2021/22 was £800 million per year; for 2022/23 and 2023/24 it is £850 million. The Department does not hold the cost information requested as our data refers to the whole of primary care and we do not have figures for community pharmacy only

Prescription Drugs: Pharmacy

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government how many patients have been given structured medication reviews (SMRs) by pharmacists in general practice and primary care networks in each year since the launch of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme in 2019; and what is the total number of patients that NHS England deems eligible to receive SMRs.

Lord Markham: NHS England records the number of patients who have received a structured medication review (SMR) on NHS.UK in an online-only format. The total number of SMRs delivered in 2022/23 was 2,694,812; however, this data does not include who delivered the SMR.NHS England does not hold data either on how many patients have been given structured medication reviews by pharmacists in general practice in each year since 2019, or on the number of patients eligible for an SMR.

Northern Ireland Office

Belfast Agreement: European Convention on Human Rights

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights would have on the Good Friday Agreement.

Lord Caine: The Government is firmly committed to upholding the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and to protecting and respecting human rights. We have a longstanding tradition of ensuring that rights and liberties are protected domestically and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations. We do not believe it is necessary to leave the ECHR in order to deliver on our major priorities. The Government remains committed to a human rights framework that is up to date, and works for all the people of the UK.

Department for Education

Qualifications

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Protect Student Choice campaignDesperate measures: data and the reform of Level 3 qualifications, published in September, which found thatat least 155,000 students could be left without a suitable study programme from 2026, given the planned reduction in Applied General Qualifications and slow growth of T levels.

Baroness Barran: The post-16 qualification reforms are based on three principles: simplifying a complex system difficult for students and employers to navigate, improving progression outcomes, and creating a new, world-class technical offer that meets the needs of employers. These changes are designed to create a ladder of opportunity that young people of all backgrounds can climb.Despite the report’s premise that removing an existing qualification means students are left without a suitable alternative, students will have a range of options to choose at level 3. This will include large qualifications that can be studied as whole programmes such as T Levels, large Alternative Academic Qualifications (for example in sport or the performing arts), or a newly created large Technical Occupational Entry qualification in a non-T Level route (such as Travel and Tourism). Students will also be able to choose to study A levels, or a mixed study programme comprising of A levels and a small Alternative Academic Qualification or small technical qualifications.Over 16,000 students have studied all or part of a T Level since their launch in 2020, and the department expects many more young people to benefit in the years to come. We are supporting providers to deliver the additional teaching hours, industry placements and high-quality learning environments needed to make T Levels a success, by increasing the national funding rates for T Levels by 10% for 2023/4 and making £450 million capital funding available alongside a £12 million Employer Support Fund. The department is helping colleges to deliver the additional teaching hours, industry placements and high-quality learning environments needed to make T Levels a success with over £500 million of funding.For students who aspire to study at level 3 but need additional time and support, the department will fund technical and academic progression qualifications which offer a subject specific focus alongside their study of English and maths. This includes T Level Foundation Qualifications that would be taken in the T Level Foundation Year. The department will also fund large technical occupational entry qualifications at level 2, which will offer broad route-specific content in addition to the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to become occupationally competent and enter the workforce.The department’s impact assessment for the Level 3 second stage consultation response can be found in the attachment. The assessment estimated that 4% of 16-19 year olds currently studying level 3, may not be able to directly access it in the future.The department is confident that the new system includes provision for all students. There are currently a wide range of approaches to entry criteria for T Levels amongst colleges, and T Levels will embrace a broader range of young people as they become universally available, with more providers offering the T Level Foundation Year.Review of post 16 qualifications  (pdf, 290.2KB)